Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, marking a significant step in Washington's renewed push to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Diplomatic Moves and European Concerns
Witkoff's high-stakes trip to the Kremlin comes just days after he led a US delegation in talks with Ukrainian officials in Florida over the weekend. This diplomatic activity occurs three and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour.
The White House has projected optimism about the prospects for an agreement. On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, “I think the administration feels very optimistic.”
However, Kyiv's European allies have voiced deep apprehension. They fear the US peace plan may concede too much to Moscow's maximalist demands. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, stated she was concerned the Putin-Witkoff talks would increase pressure on Ukraine to make unacceptable concessions.
Key Figures and Military Claims
Witkoff, a former business partner of Trump who now serves as a roving envoy, is expected to travel to Russia alongside Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Kremlin has not confirmed whether Kushner will also attend the meeting with President Putin.
In other developments, Russian military commanders reportedly informed Putin on Monday that their forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk. They described Pokrovsk as a key logistics hub and gateway to the Donbas region. The Russian president hailed these as successes enabling further advances. Ukrainian officials have not acknowledged the fall of either location.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking at a press conference with French leader Emmanuel Macron, insisted that Russia must not be rewarded for its invasion. “We also need to ensure that Russia itself does not perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war,” he said.
Progress and Challenges in Negotiations
Zelenskyy also held calls with over a dozen other leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, to rally continued European support. On social media, he wrote, “Peace must become truly durable. The war must end as soon as possible.”
Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, noted that “significant progress” had been made during the two days of talks with Witkoff in Florida. However, he cautioned that more work was needed on several “challenging” issues.
The Moscow talks proceed as Kyiv contends with internal turbulence from a corruption scandal that has shaken Zelenskyy's inner circle. This scandal forced the dismissal last week of his top negotiator and chief of staff, Andriy Yermak.
In a grim reminder of the ongoing conflict, a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Monday killed four people and wounded nearly two dozen others, according to the regional governor.
